2008 Woodie Awards
Only one of 2200...
Muhlenberg Weekly Executive Board
Issue date: 1/25/07 Section: Op/Ed
- Page 1 of 1
A travesty has recently occurred on this campus that has the entire college community gossiping behind closed doors and sifting through web pages to find the latest news about Michael Carr '07 and his alleged sexual offenses. As students of the College, classmates of Carr, yet leaders of an unbiased publication, we have struggled on how to represent this troubling issue. If you look to The Morning Call website, where the infamous articles are posted, forums are available at the conclusion of each report. The link will lead you to a discussion board of sorts filled with hatred, disgust and violence sprinkled with the occasional do-gooder's request for understanding, hope and belief in change. Altough shocked, it's hard to condemn him. Perhaps there are issues we don't know about such as Carr's personal/psychology/emotional history or if the agent was baiting him. Call us na've hopefuls or optimists who refuse to face the facts, but either way we believe that Carr does not deserve to be cruelly abused through trashy forums, wishing him injury and physical pain such as one poster's comment, "May he fall onto a broomstick which sticks out his mouth!"
Another poster said, "I can personally vouch for the fact that there are some real shady characters who attend there [Muhlenberg]. Gone are the days where 'college student' meant upstanding citizen. Our society's values are seriously f'd up and our youth reflects those f'd up values." The allegations against Carr have somehow been displaced on us all, lumping all "college students," particularly Muhlenberg students, as accomplices in crime, rebels without morals and brainless wonders with no consciences. Carr is one of 2200 students at the College-an infinitesimal percentage of the learning community (we don't all have dark secrets that lurk in AIM sessions). Yet, neither Carr nor college populations should be objects of persecution. Campuses are not breeding grounds of immorality and depravity, but rather open-minded hubs comprised of intellectual and mature individuals. Perhaps these posters should take a step onto our campus and see what Muhlenberg is all about rather than allow one student's alleged behavior to define the campus as a whole.
Another poster said, "I can personally vouch for the fact that there are some real shady characters who attend there [Muhlenberg]. Gone are the days where 'college student' meant upstanding citizen. Our society's values are seriously f'd up and our youth reflects those f'd up values." The allegations against Carr have somehow been displaced on us all, lumping all "college students," particularly Muhlenberg students, as accomplices in crime, rebels without morals and brainless wonders with no consciences. Carr is one of 2200 students at the College-an infinitesimal percentage of the learning community (we don't all have dark secrets that lurk in AIM sessions). Yet, neither Carr nor college populations should be objects of persecution. Campuses are not breeding grounds of immorality and depravity, but rather open-minded hubs comprised of intellectual and mature individuals. Perhaps these posters should take a step onto our campus and see what Muhlenberg is all about rather than allow one student's alleged behavior to define the campus as a whole.